Human Name: Anna
by chibi mitsukai
Summary: Angelus Project test subject A012 was the only one left out of 10 original subjects. She knew her fate and vowed to change it, even if it meant dying. Seraph Kratos Aurion was sent to deal with her. As he listened her story, he fell in love. KratosxAnna
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: 12-27-07 This chapter edited due to a hoard of spelling errors. u.u; It looks much better now. n.n **

* * *

"Who are you?" This from a defiant looking woman perched on a table in a corner.

"Who are you?" a Cruxis angel asked her in reply.

"I...Give me your name and I shall give you mine," she said, smiling slightly with a rebellious glint in her eye.

"Arrogance will get you nowhere," said the Seraph, crossing his arms. "My name is of no importance. Your name, however, is. Or would you rather be referred to as a number? Becau--"

"Alright! My name is Anna," said the woman, looking defeated.

The Seraph looked at her. "And here I was told that you don't listen to orders..."

"Well, that really wasn't an order..."

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from...Luin," she said, eying the angel curiously. He worked for Cruxis, this much she knew, but he wasn't yelling or hitting her with something. She wasn't sure if she should be thankful or worried.

"OK, Anna, from Luin, I want you to tell me your story."

"My...story?"

"How did you come to be in this place? What has happened to you while here? Apparently, Kvar is starting to see you as more trouble than you are worth. Considering the circumstances, that is _really_ saying something."

"Good," she said, smiling widely. Her pretty, white teeth stood out in her dirty and battered face. "Let him get pissed. Why should I care?"

The angel shrugged. "Its your life on the line, not mine."

"Do you honestly think that he'll kill me? 'Cause I don't. Even if he did, I would rather die than be submissive like an abused dog."

The Seraph was uninterested in continuing this conversation. It depressed him to know that this woman would rather throw her life away than mind her manners.

"I think," he said, "That we should start with how you got here."

"Won't you...won't you need a computer, or a notebook and pen?"

"No," he said absently. "I have a wonderful memory. Now, begin, please."

She started her story with a faraway look in her eye, like she was playing the scenes slowly in her mind as she talked to the Seraph.

* * *

One rainy day, almost seven years ago, a group of Desians came to Luin.

"Bring all of your young women into the street!" They shouted.

I was fourteen then, and apparently, that qualified me as a young woman. My mother begged my father to hide me. "Please!" she wailed, "They won't notice one missing! They probably aren't even aware of her existence!"

"No!" He shouted, pulling me. "If we don't bring her and the Desians find out, they will kill us all!" He pried my mother's arms off of me and drug me with him into the wet street.

I was put into a line with every girl that I knew and some that I didn't. The rain poured down around all of us. Most of us had our father's hands clasped on our shoulders, as if they were afraid that we'd try to run. One girl, however, stood alone. I could tell that she was older than me. She stood straight and proud, like she wasn't scared at all. I can remember thinking about how brave she looked.

My best friend, Lily, stood next to me. "What's going to happen to us?" she whispered.

"I don't know," I replied. My father tightened his grip on my shoulders.

The Desians moved slowly down the line. Every now and then, a girl was plucked from her father's grasp.

Lily leaned over and whispered, "We're all going to catch a cold!" Her father shushed her.

After what seemed like hours, the Desians reached us. They already had five girls with them. Lily and I were each jabbed with a needle. I winced as a Desian drew our blood. He labeled the two vials with our names and handed them off to another Desian with a computer.

After a few moments, the Desian looked up. "We have a match, Sir. On both of them," he said, looking back to his computer.

Lily and I were shoved into the group with the five other terrified looking girls. Before we were taken out of the city, three more girls were added to our number. The last one to be taken was the older girl who I had noticed earlier.

As we were marched out of the city, some of us could see our mothers. Their tear stained faces looked at us sadly through windows streaked with rain.

We were led to the Asgard Human Ranch. After the initial testing and an unpleasant process that they called "sanitization", we were all brought to a large room.

Lily was still beside me. It soon became clear to me that she wasn't taking our situation seriously. We were at a _Desian Human Ranch_! Did she _realize_ that?

"Look how ugly our dresses are!" she whispered to me, holding up the corners of her faded brown dress. "And, our feet are bare!"

"Stop complaining, Lily!" I growled quietly at her, rolling my eyes.

A man walked in front of us. He had long gray hair that was tightly pulled back. His eyes were so squinted that they looked like slits in his face.

"How in the world does he see?" Lily said quietly. She put her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Shut_UP_, Lily!"

The squinty-eyed man began to talk. "My name is Lord Kvar," he said. "I'd like to congratulate you for being here."

_Congratulate?_

"You ten girls are very special," he continued. "You are the only girls in all of Sylvarant who are compatible with my newest project!"

I did not like the sound of being a Desian leader's project.

"I'd like to start off by telling you that just because your bodies are special, it does not mean that you will receive any special treatment. You are still inferior beings and you will still be treated like all of the other inferior beings here.

You will work twelve hours a day and be fed two meals. If you misbehave, you shall be severely punished. You will live in cells apart from the rest of the humans. There will be three of you in each cell; one cell will contain four."

Some of the girls cast nervous glances at each other.

"Now, when you leave this room, my associates will take you to separate rooms in pairs of two. There, a unique version of a devise called an Exphere will be attached to your bodies. This Exphere will remain a part of you until the day you die."

I gulped. He said that last part in a way that indicated that day might come sooner than we all hoped.

I wound up being separated from Lily. Three Desians pulled me and a smaller girl down a long hallway and into a tiny room.

A woman stood inside. I had never seen a female Desian before. She smiled at us. I'd never seen a Desian smile either.

"Just come over here, please," she said, pointing toward two chairs that were against the wall.

I looked down at the girl beside me as we walked toward our chairs. She was probably no older than eleven. She looked terrified. I touched her arm and found that she was shaking.

I didn't know it then, but that little girl would be the first of us to die.

A few hours later, I had an unpleasant blue jewel attached to my throat. It felt like someone was pressing their hand against my neck. It hurt and it itched badly.

We were thrown onto the stone floor of a cold cell. I was surprised and relieved when I looked up to find Lily smiling at me from one of the three beds. After hugging her and sitting down beside her, I realized that we were the group of four that Kvar had mentioned. The older, proud-looking girl who I had been admiring earlier sat on a bed with her back against the wall. She had her eyes closed and a light green Exphere was poised on her pale neck.

We were all silent. I wanted to ask the other girls who they were. I opened my mouth to speak, but Lily cut me off. "I'm Lily and this is Anna," she said, first pointing to herself and then to me. "What're your names?"

"I-I'm Namiko," squeaked the small girl, from her place on the third bed.

"My name is Yumi," said the older girl. She blinked her eyes, as if she had just realized that she wasn't alone in the cell.

"How come I've never seen either of you before?" Lily said. She sounded suspicious.

"My...family...actually, just moved to Luin..." squeaked Namiko, rubbing her Exphere.

We all looked to Yumi, who hadn't answered yet. "I don't really come outside much."

"Why?" questioned Lily.

"I...because!" Yumi snapped. She leaned her head back against the wall and said no more.

Lily started to say something else, but I elbowed her in the side. She glared at me and soon fell asleep.

Later in the night, the sound of ragged breathing woke me. I sat up and looked around. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Namiko scratching at her Exphere, which was glowing a bright red.

I scrambled across the room. "What's wrong?!" I whispered.

"I...can't...bre...breathe!" she squeaked, clawing at her neck with both hands and gasping.

I looked around. Lily would do me no good. She didn't know magic or anything. I didn't think any of the guards would help me. So I woke Yumi up.

"Huh... wha...whadduya doing!?" she grumbled sleepily as I shook her awake.

"Its Namiko! She can't breathe!"

Yumi went quickly to Namiko's bed. She looked down at the small girl and mumbled something like "You call this a 'young woman'?" She placed her hand upon the flailing child's chest and I watched as her hand glowed green.

Namiko stopped struggling to breathe. "Th..thank you!" she said while taking gulps of air.

"Wow!" said Lily excitedly, trying to be quiet. "How'd you do that, Yumi?"

I realized my mouth was hanging open and closed it quickly. I had never seen anyone do magic.

"I am...uh...m-my mom was..." Yumi stammered. She looked around at us all staring at her. "I'm a half-elf, OK?!" She looked embarrassed and quickly got back to bed.

Lily, Namiko, and I gaped at each other. _Why did they put here in here,_ I found myself thinking. _If she's one of them?_

"Yumi..." I started.

"We don't-" Lily started to finish, but Yumi cut her off.

"I don't want to talk about it!" she said to the wall. She sounded like she was crying.

* * *

"So this woman, Yumi, she was a half-elf?" asked the Seraph, who had found a chair for himself.

"Yes," said Anna.

"I've never heard of a half-elf being held at a Ranch," the angel said, more to himself than to Anna. "I suppose it didn't matter to Kvar, as long as her body was compatible..."

"Yumi was the only half-elf I have ever known," Anna said quietly.

"Was?"

"Yeah."

The human looked very sad for a moment, and then continued her story.

* * *

The next morning, we were taken to a room where we each had a number tattooed on our hands. Mine was A012. Lily's was L178, Namiko's was N093, and Yumi's was Y051. I scratched at my hand while we were led into the sun to do our work.

It was meaningless labor, this I realized soon enough. We pushed large,_unbelievably_ heavy blocks around in circles all day. But we knew better than to pause, because we had just seen a child, no older than five, whipped until he passed out.

After twelve hours of this, we were thrown back into our cell. They gave us a hunk of bread and some old cheese. We shared a mug of water.

I sadly recalled the meal I had shared with my family before I had been taken from them. I wondered if my parents were thinking of me and a tear slid down my face.

"Do you...do you think that our parents are sad?" asked Namiko, who had apparently been thinking the same thing I was.

I looked at her. She was so small. "I'm sure they are," I smiled at her. She smiled back.

We followed the same routine the next day. Pathetic food, pointless work, more pathetic food, and sleep. It went like this for more than a month. We were like drones. We were all whipped at least once. Lily got it twice. One thing we noticed was that we were the only ones in the entire ranch who had our Expheres on our necks. We looked for anything abnormal, some minor ripple in the daily sameness.

Finally something exciting happened.

After eating, Yumi motioned for us to come close to her.

"I've found out why we're here," she whispered.

"They're using our bodies to grow something," she continued, "Called a Cruxis Crystal."

"Cruxis...Crystal?" said Lily. "What's that?"

"Well, I don't really know all of the details. But remember when we first came here and Kvar said that these things," she pointed to her Exphere, "were unique forms of Expheres?"

We nodded.

"Well, it turns out that they're evolved forms, and Kvar is trying to turn them into Cruxis Crystals. He calls it the 'Angelus Project'."

"How?" I said.

"Apparently, they're feeding off of us. They use the mana from our bodies to thrive."

"If they're taking mana from us, we'll die!" whispered Namiko. She had grown considerably thinner and paler in the past month. "We should just take them off then!" She reached up toward her neck.

"NO!" whispered Yumi frantically. She grabbed Namiko's hand. "No. If you take it off, it will turn you into some kind of monster."

"Wait," said Lily. "How is it that you know all of this?"

"Lily, I can't tell you that," said Yumi. "Because I don't want Hi-- I don't want anyone getting in trouble."

* * *

"So," said the Seraph, "She was getting information from somewhere?"

Anna nodded. "Yes."

"An insider?"

"Yes."

"I see," the angel leaned back in his chair. "Go on."

Anna started to continue, but a door opened behind her. A Desian walked in.

"Lord Kratos," he said, bowing. "Lord Kvar says that Lord Yggdrasill has summoned you."

"Hmn..." said the angel, nodding. "Tell him I will be right there."

The Desian nodded and left.

The Seraph turned toward the girl. "It appears that we'll have to continue this conversation some other time."

"When?" she said, standing up. "When will I see you again?"

"Why does it matter?"

She looked at the floor. "You..." she crossed her arms. "You aren't like them."

"No," he said. "I suppose I'm not."

"So when are you coming back?"

"I will return soon enough," he said.

Before she could say anything else, be left her. The girl stood alone, waiting for a Desian to come and throw her back in her prison.

_Kratos..._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry this took forever to write. If you read my other story, you know why. If not, its because I was grounded and then sick. ):**

**Anyway, its so cool that my stories are getting favorited! I guess that means they're good! Thanks so much. :)**

"You know," said Anna the next time she saw the red haired Seraph, "I remember a saying from Luin. Would you like to hear it?"

"Sure," said the angel.

"'To know someone's name is to hold a piece of their soul.' I remembered it shortly after you left."

The corners of Kratos' mouth twitched. "Really? Then I have part of your soul, Anna."

She smiled. "And I hold a piece of yours," she said.

Kratos frowned. "A small piece, perhaps. There is not much left to hold..." Again, he was speaking more to himself than Anna.

She looked quizzically at him. "Not much left to hold? I don't understand."

"Good. You don't need to. Continue with your story."

"Hmph. You don't tell me what to do." She growled, crossing her arms.

Kratos sighed. "Continue your story, _please_?"

"That's better. Now where did I leave off?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing really happened for many months after Yumi told us what she knew. We had been at the Ranch for almost a year, and we had all grown considerably different.

Yumi was as strong as ever, both in mind and body. She held her head high no matter what happened. In my opinion, her will was stronger than it was when we were first brought in. The only physical difference I could see in her was that she had gotten thinner and her hair was longer.

Lily rarely spoke. She had become weak and very timid. She had started off with a smart mouth, but all that got her was countless whippings and several black eyes. So she shut up. She barely even spoke to us, her friends. Scars crisscrossed her back and her arms. She was a sad sight.

I had grown taller and bolder. I wouldn't let them beat me down as they had Lily. I had been hit, punched, kicked, and whipped more times than I could count, but I had made up my mind that they wouldn't break me. My inspiration was Yumi. I wanted to be just like her.

Namiko had fallen ill. She was terribly pale and skinny. Her voice was a feeble whisper and she often started shaking. Many nights, one of us had to wake Yumi so she could make her breathe properly again. She wasn't allowed outside anymore. She worked in some inside room for 18 hours every day and we rarely got to see her.

One day, during the winter, she couldn't get out of bed. She could barely move. We tried to pull her up because we knew she'd get in trouble, but even being touched was painful for her.

Two Desians came to our cell and took her away. When we returned after work, she wasn't there. She didn't come back the next day or the next day or the day after that. We began to suspect the worst. And our fears were confirmed on a rainy day when Yumi had been working inside.

Lily and I returned to find her with eyes red from crying.

"What is it?" I said.

"Namiko is...dead." she said quietly, staring at her hands.

"How?" Lily whispered, talking for the first time in weeks.

"She said Namiko wasn't compatible with her Crystal."

"Who said?" I said.

"Hi-- uh, never mind," said Yumi, looking away from us.

"Tell me!" I demanded.

"I'm not telling you where I get my information. The girl told me that Namiko's Exphere has been killing her since we got here. Two other girls have suffered the same fate already. She said more of us are likely to die. Some of us aren't compatible with the Crystal." She shrugged. "That's all I know, Anna."

I was angry with her. I knew that wasn't all she knew. She wasn't telling me where her information was coming from and I wanted to know. She was protecting someone; someone who was more important to her than we were. But who?

Two more years passed, three more girls died. We saw one of them, a blonde girl, as she was pulled past our cell. She had blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and was crying for her mother. Then we heard a dull thud and her cries stopped.

Lily had become worse than ever. She never spoke a word now. She had stopped speaking entirely over a year before. This hadn't accomplished much besides getting her in more trouble. Her face was an explosion of cuts and bruises where she had been hit and punched.

None of us looked the same, not even Yumi. Our hair had grown long and matted, we were all pale and skinny, even our eyes were different; they had become dull and sad. Our sadness was due to watching others die all around us and having no power to stop it. Namiko's death had hit us especially hard.

A year later and it was only the three of us left. I worried night and day that Lily wasn't going to live much longer. She had lost all faith. She worked like a good little drone, but was still whipped. The Desians liked hurting her for some reason.

She slept curled up close to me. I always knew she was there and that was somehow comforting. Then one night, I woke up and she was gone. In a panic, I sat straight up in bed praying that she would return.

She did, soon enough. I thanked the Heavens, but soon realized that something was wrong. She smelled odd, her dirty hair was messed up, and she was crying. "Lily...what happened?" I asked, running to her.

She didn't answer me, but she picked up her skirt and I saw blood on the inner part of her legs. I was confused for a moment, but then it hit me. It was unimaginable, it was horrible, but I knew it had happened. She had been raped. "Oh, Lily, they didn't, did they?" I whispered, beginning to cry.

Biting her lip, she nodded. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. I threw my arms around her and we sat there on the stone floor just crying for hours.

The next day, we were sent outside, as usual. After a few hours, Lily grabbed my hand and pulled me into the shadows with her.

"Lily, what are we doing? We're going to get in trouble!" I whispered, but she pulled my hand harder until we were out of sight.

I heard her speak then, for the first time in three years. "Anna," she said, in a hoarse whisper, "You have always been my best friend."

I smiled, happy that she was speaking. "I know."

"Would you still be my friend even if...even if I was to die?"

"Of course," I said, "But that doesn't matter. You aren't going to die, Lily."

She smiled sadly and pointed towards her Exphere. "If this goes away, I'll die."

"But, Lily--"

"I'm going to take it off, Anna."

"No! Lily, you can't take your Crystal off!"

"Why?" she said, dodging my attempt to grab her hand, "So they can beat me some more? So they can rape me again? So I can just die later, like Nami-Chan?"

I blinked back my tears. "No, Lily...I-I don't want you to go!"

"I don't want to leave you," she said, starting to cry. "But this place is hell. My whole body aches, I'm always bruised or bleeding...and...and then what happened last night...I-I don't want that to happen ever again." she shuddered.

"Lily...it won't happen again! I'll protect you!" I cried, grabbing her hands. "I'll kill them."

She shook her head. "They'd kill you. Its better this way, Anna. They won't be able to hurt me anymore."

She put her arms around me. We were both crying now. "Remember when we were little, and we used to pick flowers and throw the petals in the water around Luin?"

"Of course I do!"

"When you get out of this place, I want you to go to Luin and pick the ones I liked. Throw their petals in the water and say a prayer for me."

"When I get out of here?" I whispered. "Lily I'll never get out. I'll die without you!"

"No. You won't die. You will get out of this horrible place. For me. Promise me, Anna."

"Lily, please--"

"Promise me!"

"I-I promise." I hugged her tightly. I didn't want to let her go.

She leaned her head on my shoulder. "You're my best friend, Anna. I love you more than anything in the world." she leaned up and kissed my cheek gently. "Now get away from me."

"Lily, please, please don't!" I sobbed as she backed away from me.

"I love you," she said again. "Now go."

Crying, she closed her eyes and reached towards her Exphere. I wanted to stop her, I wanted to scream for help, but I couldn't. With a little gasp, she pulled the thing off of her neck. Then she let out a piercing scream of pain.

"Lily!" I screamed, running to her even though I knew I shouldn't. "Lily!"

Her screams continued. She was changing shape. Her skin was turning green, she was becoming deformed and getting taller. Her face disappeared behind a mask of green flesh. Lily was gone and I stood staring in horror at the monster she had become.

"Oh, Lily," I whispered. I could hear shouts as the Desians came running towards us. Everything was moving slowly. Lily raised a huge, gnarled hand and with a growl, struck me hard across the middle, knocking me back about ten feet.

I screamed when I hit the ground and wasn't able to move for a moment. Desians had surrounded her, hitting her with their whips and yelling. I sat up and winced; blood was covering the front of my dress. "No!" I cried, "Please, stop, you're hurting her!" But they couldn't hear me, my voice was barely louder than a whisper. Even if had heard me, they would have paid no attention.

She attacked one of them, hitting him twice. With a cry, he fell to the ground. I didn't know if he was dead or alive and I didn't care. Quicker than lightning, the archers pulled out their bows. "No!" I screamed, but it was too late. Three arrows caught her directly in the chest.

"_Lily_!!" I wailed as she let out a piercing shriek and fell to the ground. Ignoring her, the Desians ran to their fallen friend. I crawled to Lily, clutching my stomach. My dress was now dripping with blood.

She had returned to normal. She was covered in blood and I knew she was dying. She stared at me, at the blood on me. "Did I?" she gasped.

"Its okay, it doesn't hurt," I said.

"Liar," she whispered. She coughed up some blood.

I pulled her head into my lap.

"This hurts, Anna," she whispered.

"I know," I said, "It'll be over soon." I was rocking back and forth now.

"I'm sorry, Anna," she cried, coughing up more blood. "I'm sorry."

"Its okay," I sobbed, wiping the blood off of her face.

She smiled. "D-don't...for...forget your...your...p-promise, o-okay?" she gasped, struggling to talk.

I nodded, biting my lip, "Okay."

"...Love...you." she whispered.

"I love you too."

She smiled slightly and then her eyes went blank.

"Lily! Lily, no!" I cried. But she was dead and I knew it. I curled up beside her and sobbed, suddenly aware of how much pain I was in. My vision blurred and my heart was pounding. Maybe the wound she had given me was fatal. Maybe I could die there with her.

I could hear the Desians, though not well. It was like I was fading in and out of consciousness.

"...dead...This...injured...to...Hikara..."

And then I blacked out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anna looked at Kratos. She had tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Kratos," she said, wiping them away. "I-I can't talk anymore about this today."

He stood up and walked to her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

"All right then," he said, touching her shoulder in a kind way. "I will leave you be."

"When will you be back?"

"Why are you so keen on seeing me again? I'm one of the bad guys, remember?"

"No you aren't! I've never been able to talk to anyone like I can talk to you, not since Lily died anyway. When will you be back?"

"I'll...I'll try to be back in the next few days." he said, running a hand through his hair. "But don't get your hopes up."

"Kratos," she said quietly, "My hopes haven't been up in years."

A Desian came in to take her away and Kratos left the room, wondering why he felt so sad and knowing that it was because of her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ZOMG!! FINALLY, an update! If anyone from before I vanished has been waiting for this update, I'm very sorry. ): Feel free to message me and yell at me, but please read the explanation of my absence in my profile first and try to forgive me, OK? **

* * *

It was nearly two weeks before Kratos was able to return to the Asgard Ranch to visit Anna. Lord Yggdrasill was having a major temper tantrum over a failed world regeneration and all of Cruxis was busy trying to calm him down. He, as one of Mithos' right-hand men, had been tirelessly reassuring Mithos that it would only be a matter of time before a new Chosen was born and thus a new chance to balance the world again. Finally, after Mithos returned to his normal self, Kratos was able to leave Derris-Kharlan without being noticed.

"Anna?" he called, after entering the room where Kvar had placed her to wait for Kratos. "Anna?" The room was dimly lit, not bright like it had been on his two previous visits.

"Kratos?" said a weak voice, "Kratos, is that you?"

"Yes. What's wrong?" the level of concern he was showing for the girl bothered Kratos, but he couldn't help it. It was simply how he...felt. Amazing. For the first time in thousands of years, he was feeling an emotion that had nothing to do with anger or regret.

"Nothing, nothing--" she coughed "--I'm just a little ill today. My head hurts, so I figured out how to turn down the lights."

"That's pretty impressive. Magitechnology is difficult to understand."

"Well, when you've been here for as long as I have, you learn a few things," Anna laughed. "Really. I'm OK. This just happens sometimes. I'm sure its some weird side effect of my Crystal." She sighed. "I might as well just g--"

"No!" Kratos said suddenly. "Anna, you mustn't give up!"

Anna, now wide-eyed and surprised at Kratos' sudden outburst said, "I...uh...I was saying that I might as well just get used to it...Kratos, are _you_ feeling OK today?"

Embarrassed, Kratos shook his head. "Of course I...I just...oh, never mind." He sighed. "The point is, I can make your head feel better, if you'd like."

Anna agreed and Kratos used a quick healing spell on her.

"Wow, Kratos! My throat feels better and everything. Magic is amazing!"

"Yes. Well, there's no need to get so excited about it. Its just a skill."

"But to be able to heal people at will! Or to summon lightning whenever you want!"

"I take it you have seen elemental lightning magic before, then?"

Anna's smile faded away very quickly. She paled and looked away.

"I'm sorry." said Kratos. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, Kratos, I...You didn't know. I even forgot about it, I was so excited. I-I...saw Kvar perform lightning magic...to kill two people at this ranch.

"I see. Well...perhaps I should go. I came to see you and to hear more of your story. But I do not wish to harm you by bringing up painful memories." He turned to leave.

"No, Kratos, wait. Its...OK. I think I can talk about it. Besides, I-I don't want you to go." She looked away and blushed. "Well I...What I mean is...it gets so quiet and boring when you aren't here. Um...you see, we aren't really allowed to talk. Especially me, since I'm kept in this isolation room most of the time now, and--"

"Anna," Kratos interrupted, "You are rambling."

"Ah...yes, I suppose I am. ...Well, where did I leave off last time?"

"You were talking about your...friend."

"Yes...poor little Lily. Well, I shall start there again."

* * *

"As you know, she...she nearly killed me. They transported me to the infirmary, where I was healed as well as could be expected by the Desian doctor. I was still very weak and very badly injured--her skills were not very advanced--and when I woke up days later, I can remember very clearly asking what they'd done with Lily's body.

The doctor, the same kind woman who had performed tests on me and everyone else when we had first arrived years before, told me that she didn't know. "Besides," she said very sadly, "I doubt if it would be a place that you'd want to learn about, anyway."

Before I had time to inquire further, the door was thrown open. Yumi, of all people, rushed in, unaccompanied. "Hikara! Hikara!" she cried, "What's happened to Anna? She disappeared nearly a week ago, Lily too--"

"Lily is dead," I said.

"Anna!" Yumi cried. "Oh I'm so glad you're alive---What did you say?"

I shifted, wincing in pain, "Lily is dead," I repeated. "She removed her exphere and turned into a...a monster. She attacked me and then was struck down."

"A-Are you sure she is dead? Maybe they knew of a way to help her?"

I shook my head. At that point, the tears came. "No. I-I'm positive. As she was dying, she returned to her normal form and she...she died in my lap."

"Anna, I am...I'm so sorry. I know she was your best friend."

"Don't be," I said, and my voice held a bitterness that it had never held before, "Lily knew what she was doing. She is better off dead than in this living hell. She is...safe now." I swallowed back a sob. "Do you know, Yumi?" I cried. "Do you know what these bastards did to her?!"

"N-No." she was shocked that I had spoke against the Desians while there was one of them in the room. But I didn't care anymore. The doctor too, was staring at me as though I had grown a second head.

"They took her away from us the night before she killed herself! They took her away and they raped her!"

The doctor dropped the potion she was carrying. Yumi was stunned into silence. The doctor recovered first. "They...they did _what_?"

"T-they r-raped her!" I sobbed into my hands. "And b-beat her up and...and...oh Yumi, it was s-so a-awful!" I cried. "Poor Lily is b-better off! They can't touch her anymore! They won't ever lay a dirty finger on her a-again! Oh...oh, heaven help me, I don't think I can t-take this much l-longer. So many innocents are dying all around us, and there's n-n-nothing that we can do! I tried being strong, but nothing came of it! Nothing but watching my best friend waste away before me and finally die right in front of me! MY BEST FRIEND! I-I feel like just...just giving up."

"No, Anna! Please, you must not talk like that!" Begged Yumi.

"And why not? I...what can I do? I couldn't even save Lily."

"You couldn't save Lily, Anna, because Lily did not want to be saved. You know that in your heart. She wanted to be freed from this place. You know that, don't you?"

I didn't reply. But I knew. Of course I knew; Lily had told me herself!

"Your mind is just clouded by grief right now, and I understand," Yumi continued. "But think, Anna, and you will come to realize that this talk of giving up is meaningless. It is the one thing that you_must not do_, do you understand?"

"I...I...Lily made me promise her that I would get out of here alive. Her...final wish was that I would travel to Luin and toss the flowers in the lake for her." I said this in somewhat of a daze and I feared that I would start bawling again.

"Then you understand? You know that you mustn't let her down. You must fulfill Lily's last request, no matter what it takes."

"But Yumi, how can I do it? Without Lily, I feel so sad and...empty. Its as if...even though I have a _reason_ to keep living, I lack the _will_. Do you know, Yumi, what I was hoping for back there? I was wishing that the wound Lily had inflicted upon me was fatal and that I would be able to die there with her."

"Oh, Anna..."

Then the doctor said something. "I think it is time we tell her, Yumi."

"H-Hikara? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that she has suffered enough. Its time she knows the truth."

"B-but...alright, Hikara, if you think its for the best."

* * *

"Now, Kratos," said Anna suddenly. "What I am about to tell you must _never leave this room_. Do you understand?"

"May I ask why?"

"Enough people have died. And what I am about to say will possibly put more people in terrible danger. I am going to trust you. You must not tell anyone any of the things that I am going to say."

"Yes. Of course."

"Then I shall tell you everything that Hikara told me. There is an organization called the Renegades, which opposes the Desians. They are almost completely made up of half-elves. Even their leader is a half-elf, a man named Yuan--"

Kratos choked on the water he was drinking.

"Are you OK?" Anna asked worriedly.

"Y-Yes, yes, I'm fine. Continue, please."

"Anyway, them being mostly made up of half-elves makes it easy for them to infiltrate the Desians and gather information. Hikara was an agent of the Renegades, one of three who were placed at the Asgard Ranch upon the formation of the group. When she learned of Kvar's plan to start the Angelus Project, she made sure that Yuan knew about it. The Renegades made sure that it was their agents who went to the cities of Sylvarant testing the girls, so that none of them would match and they'd be safe. However, the trip to Luin was made in secret, because Kvar had become suspicious. He sent Desians who he positively knew were loyal, and they obviously found matches.

"When we were brought in, it was a surprise to everyone. Hikara was horrified to see that her own sister, Yumi, was included in the group. As soon as she was able, she pleaded with Yuan to organize a rescue attempt. He agreed, but as of the time she told me this information, all rescue attempts had failed.

"Hikara had decided, and Yuan had agreed, that since Yumi and I were the only two left the next attempt _must_ be a success. And that was when she told me, that the attempt was scheduled in just a matter of days. 'So, don't fret, dear,' she said. 'It won't be much longer.'"

"But..." said Kratos, "You're still here. And Yumi isn't. I thought this...Yuan was making sure you both escaped?"

"Well...the problem was, Yuan wasn't actually involved in the attempt. It was too risky at the time...perhaps Kvar knew something...and the attempt was canceled. However, Hikara was scared for Yumi's life and she wasn't waiting for the OK from Yuan. And that was a terrible mistake. She had no help from the other Renegades. It was just her and us.

"We did _try_ to escape, of course. And we almost made it out. But then, someone shot me with an arrow and instead of running and saving themselves, they ran back to get me. We were all captured.

Anna sighed sadly. "Hikara knew that her fate, at least, would be death. She was a traitor. They already had her locked up with us, awaiting punishment. She didn't know what would become of us though.

"'As far as Kvar is concerned,' she said, 'Yumi and yourself are valuable resources. I don't think he will kill you. My only regret is that I will be leaving Yumi. I'm so sorry that I was unable to save you, both of you. I've failed. But listen, and listen well,' she swallowed. 'This is my last request. Now Yumi, don't look at me that way; I know they'll be coming for me soon. You two must not give up on living. Someday, somehow, I have hope that you will get out. When you do, you must try to find and seek refuge with the Renegades. Not only will they protect you, but there is something you must tell their leader. You must tell Yuan...you must tell Yuan that I love him.'"

"She_loved_him?" said Kratos incredulously. "Did he love her back?"

"Well how should _I_ know? Its not as if I've had the chance to ask him." replied Anna, slightly annoyed.

"I-I'm sorry. That was a stupid question."

"Yes. Well anyway, they came for her shortly after we had that conversation.

"'Goodbye, Yumi,' she said tearfully, 'Remember that I love you. I'm sorry.'

"Then one of the Desians laughed at her. 'Why are you saying your goodbyes here, Hikara? She's coming with us. They're both coming with us.'

"Hikara paled. 'W-what do you mean?' she said. 'Surely he's not so stupid as to kill his last two test subjects?'

"'No,' said the Desian with a malicious grin. "Of course Lord Kvar isn't stupid! He just wants them to watch you die.'

"And so, we were led off to the main hall where everyone was gathered. Hikara, with her hands tied behind her back was shoved to her knees in the middle of the room. Kvar made this long speech about how 'This is what happens to traitorous fools.' and 'This is a lesson to any of you who may harbor thoughts about helping pathetic, inferior beings escape.'

"He went on and on. Finally, he began casting a spell. A lightning spell. I suppose he thought that electrocuting her would be the most painful fate. I had my eyes shut tight. I didn't want to see. Then, at the last second, I heard a cry of 'No, Big Sister!' from beside me. Yumi broke free of the guard who was holding her and threw herself on top of Hikara. Kvar had no time to stop his spell and the lightning hit both of them.

"'Yumi!' I cried, also breaking free of my guard and running to their bodies, 'Yumi!!' But Yumi was dead. Hikara, not getting as much of the electricity, had time to whisper 'Give 'em Hell, kid.' and then she died as well. I was left with no one, and I broke down right their and dissolved into tears.

"Then I was taken away, and I've been in isolation every since. I am the only girl, in all of the world, who is compatible and I am much too valuable to risk. But those first few hours, when I was all alone and crying, I had a lot of time to think. I now had _two_ people's final requests to take care of, so there was no way I could die now if I could help it. However, the only way I'd die now is if my exphere killed me, because _he_ wouldn't dare kill me. I was his only hope.

"So, I took Hikara's last words to heart, and I've been causing as much trouble as possible. Whenever they beat me too badly, I remind them just what I am and they are forced to let up just a little. They can beat me half to death, but even that isn't enough to stop me. And so, they have sent you."

"I see now," said Kratos, "Why you told me the first time that I saw you that you didn't think Kvar would kill you. I had thought that you just didn't care about your life, but that's not it. You just know that Kvar wouldn't be foolish enough to kill you. And...I'd have to agree."

Anna laughed. "You mean, you're not going to reprimand me for being a little rebel?"

"No. But I must warn you, I was called here as somewhat of a last resort. Kvar has put up with your stunts for too long. He is starting to get tired of you. I would advise you to calm it down, or he might forget his precious project and get rid of you."

Before their conversation could continue, Kvar himself entered the room._Well, speak of the devil..._ Anna thought.

As it turned out, Kvar was just playing messenger. Thankfully, he hadn't heard any of their conversation. He came to tell Kratos that he was needed back at the Holy City. Apparently, Yggdrasill had blown up a room in a fit of rage, destroying several important records.

"Listen Human," acted Kratos, "I'm not finished with you. And I expect you to act like you should while I'm gone." Without waiting for a reply, he left with Kvar.

* * *

After sorting things out, Kratos went to his quarters to reflect on the information he had gained that day. So Yuan was really against the Desians, and thus against Cruxis, since they were basically the same organization. And it had been like this for sometime now, at least seven years. How had he not known?

But how could he do this? Betraying them, because as far as he knew, he was still close with Mithos...Kratos had to know. He wouldn't say a word to Lord Yggdrasill, because it would surely mean Yuan's death. Instead, he would go to Yuan himself. It wouldn't be lying to Anna, not if he was speaking to the very person she had told him about. And Anna wouldn't be in any danger because Kratos wouldn't tell Yuan where he'd learned the information. So, making up his mind, Kratos set off to find Yuan.

It took him forever, but he finally found him in the Great Seed Chamber, looking sadly up at Martel, where she was suspended within the seed. He didn't spend as much time in here as he did when she first died. Back then, he would sometimes hide away in here for days and Kratos would hear him weeping. But, over these 4,000 years, Yuan's emotions had all but vanished. So, now, instead of breaking down and crying, he merely stared longingly at her, as if he was praying to her like the Goddess she was supposed to be. Maybe he was.

Kratos pitied him and he longed to comfort him, because once upon a time, he and Yuan had been best friends. But Yuan hated him now. For, inadvertently, it was Kratos' fault that Yuan's love was dead and forever trapped in the seed.

He sighed and walked into the room. Upon hearing his footsteps, Yuan spun around, quickly wiping his eyes.

"You!" he said. "What are _you_ doing in here?"

"Looking for you. I need to talk to you."

"Well, I have no interest in talking to you," he said, walking past him.

"I know about the Renegades," Kratos said softly.

Yuan froze and turned slowly. "How?"

"That is none of your concern. But I know. How could you do this? How could you betray us?"

"Betray_you_? You?" he pointed to Martel. "_She's_ the one who has been betrayed here! All she ever lived for was good! Good for every pathetic little creature who crawled on the surface of this insignificant planet. But what did she get for it? Suffering and death! But she isn't even allowed to rest, no, she's exalted as this precious goddess who went into hiding after the death of a hero. Twisted, disgusting lies! Its so wrong, Kratos! Its all so horribly wrong!"

"Yuan...please, calm down."

"Nine years ago, I formed the Renegades with the help of some friends. Do you know why? Because I found out something which I probably was never meant to know, just as you don't know it now. Do you know what that was?"

"No."

"All these years, we thought what we were doing was right. That we were sacrificing these children, these "_Chosen_" humans, all in the name of fixing the world which we destroyed. But we were wrong. _He_ is a complete madman. The Chosen is merely a pawn in his schemes. He's trying to find a new body to house her soul."

"What are you talking about?"

"Her soul! Her _soul_, Kratos!" he cried, again pointing to Martel. "He wants to bring her back to life! And then, then do you know what the fool plans on doing? He wants to make the whole word into a land of 'lifeless beings'. Somehow, in his twisted little mind, this means the fulfillment of her last request."

"But...but that's wrong!"

"Of course its wrong! That's why I started the Renegades. He has to be stopped, before its too late."

"But you're just one man. What can you hope to do?"

"I hope to do as much as I possibly can. And its not just me. You'd be surprised at how many half-elves are Desians simply because they think that its their only option. Plenty of them are willing to leave and join me. Now I have a question for you. Now that you know, about me and about Yggdrasill, what do you plan to do? Will you turn a blind eye to the hell he's trying to create, or will you leave?"

"Leave? But I have nothing in that world..." _Except Anna..._ "Unless...Yuan, do you remember a Renegade named Hikara?"

"Of course. She was one of the ones that helped me set up the Renegades...how do you know of her?"

"It doesn't matter. Hikara died, trying to help two girls escape from Kvar's human ranch. What if I told you that there was still a chance of finishing what she started?"

"What are you talking about? Everyone involved in that rescue perished, including the prisoners."

"No. One of them is still alive. She is the last living member of the Angelus Project. I have been visiting her on the request of Kvar, for almost a month now, because he can no longer handle her. If you can help me free her, I will leave Cruxis and never look back."

-----

**A/N: O.O that was a long chapter, for me anyway. I focused a lot on the Kratos/Yuan convo. at the end, but I think it fits better at the end of this chapter than it would have at the beginning of the next chapter. Poor Yuan...he makes me sad...I need to write a Yuartel fic sometime... Anyway, this story will probably move a little slower now that I've put in this chapter, because I'd like to have some time to really work on Memories of an Angel. Its really hard for me to do two multi-chapter stories at the same time and still make them good. u.u; I fail. **

**Please review!**


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